Two Caribbean Cocktail Recipes

By Kristine Hansen

The Painkiller
On the island Jost Van Dyke, which is part of the BVIs, electricity first switched on in 1991 and walking barefoot is still de rigeur today.

It’s also where, during the 1970s, at Soggy Dollar Bar—so named because it has no dock and patrons typically swim from their yachts or small boats to the shore—the Painkiller was born: a sweet concoction composed of coconut, pineapple and orange juices, and dark rum, topped with freshly grated nutmeg.

On Tortola, also in the BVIs, just about every bar serves painkillers. If it’s a sunset you crave, head to Bananakeet Café for happy hour (4-6 p.m.). The restaurant’s outdoor seating area juts out into the water above Carrot Bay, offering 180-degree views of the bands of orange and pink that melt into the sky each night.

The following recipe uses Pusser’s Rum, a Tortolan brand that’s available internationally.

Blend rum with juices and coconut and serve over the rocks. Top with freshly grated nutmeg.

Barbadian Rum Punch
Rum is thought to have originated on the West Indian island of Barbaods. While there, whether you’re dining beside British society figures at distinguished, Zagat-rated restaurants like the Cliff, Champers and Daphne’s, or just kicking back at one of the many roadside, pastel-colored chattel shops, chances are you’ll find Rum Punch, the island’s signature cocktail, on the menu. The following recipe is from Barbados’s Mount Gay Rum Factory, whose rum is available in liquor stores throughout the world. Chances are it will also cure the pain.